Published by Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano LLP

Menu

Published by:

Connect With Us

New York’s Newest Budget Shortchanges Injured Workers

A couple of weeks ago Governor Cuomo signed the New York State Budget that contained some potentially detrimental provisions for injured workers. Big business interests are taking their victory laps as they continue with their campaign to dismantle the Workers’ Compensation system by further reducing benefits to injured workers. See this for what it is- a relentless attack on the working men and women of this state.

If you believe that the majority of those on Workers’ Compensation are frauds, faking an injury, or taking advantage of taxpayers, then you are probably content with the changes in the law. That also probably means you were swayed by the alternative facts that the Business Council was promulgating, including the proposition that Workers’ Compensation benefits are to blame for the high cost of doing business in New York and that many injured workers are not deserving of the benefits they receive.

My colleague Len Jernigan from North Carolina issues an annual report of the top 10 Workers’ Compensation fraud cases. In 2016, those top 10 fraud claims were against employers – not workers – and totaled more than $400 million! Much of the fraud involved misclassification of employees in order to circumvent payroll taxes and Workers’ Compensation insurance. In fact, very few workers would voluntarily subject themselves to a system that has become so bloated by bureaucracy and is more concerned about precluding medical treatment because a form is not filled out correctly or penalizing counsel for being too overzealous by submitting numerous requests for their client’s day in court.

Injured workers do not have much political clout. They do not get rich off of Workers’ Compensation benefits. Their weekly benefits can be reduced if they are considered partially disabled without regard to their socio economic status, their educational level or whether or not they are still being treated for their injuries. Many of them who were union workers now are no longer able to pay union dues; some cannot pay for medical insurance for themselves or their families as Workers’ Compensation insurance only covers the injured worker for the injuries sustained on the job.

Workers’ Memorial Day takes place annually on April 28. It is a day to remember those who have suffered and died on the job. Each year there are symposiums, panel discussions, acknowledgements, and speeches paying tribute to the men and women who have lost their lives at work. Many of our politicians will issue statements or attend rallies to stand in solidarity with workers’ groups. We will hear how their deaths should not be in vain and how we must make our workplaces safer. We will be saddened to hear the list of names of those who went off to work never to return.

Many of the politicians giving these speeches are the same politicians who voted to reduce benefits to injured workers in order to appease big business interests. It is difficult to comprehend the hypocrisy involved, but we are told this is politics as usual. While it may be too late regarding the further limitation for lost wages, there is still an opportunity to let the Governor know that any further reduction for permanent injuries to limbs is just not acceptable. While honoring those who died on the job is laudable, properly compensating those who have suffered permanent injuries is equally important and ensures that we value both the dead and the living.

Catherine M. Stanton is a senior partner in the law firm of Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP. She focuses on the area of Workers’ Compensation, having helped thousands of injured workers navigate a highly complex system and obtain all the benefits to which they were entitled. Ms. Stanton has been honored as a New York Super Lawyer, is the past president of the New York Workers’ Compensation Bar Association, the immediate past president of the Workers’ Injury Law and Advocacy Group, and is an officer in several organizations dedicated to injured workers and their families. She can be reached at 800.692.3717.

About Our Team

This blog is written by the attorneys of Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP, as well as our distinguished colleagues from across the country. Our firm is a full service Law Firm that has been representing the injured person and worker for over 80 years. We have individual departments and specialists concentrating in serious personal injury cases, workers’ compensation claims, occupational disease claims, social security claims and various other matters such as estate planning and state and municipal disability claims. Our attorneys are selected as Super Lawyer magazine Super Lawyers year after year. In 2009 and 2010 our firm had 100% of the Super Lawyers named in Workers’ Compensation in the New York metro area. For more information about our firm and our attorneys, please visit our firm website.

Take Justice Back

Learn more about how corporations are conspiring to deny you access to the justice system.

Disclaimer: This Blog/Website is made available by the lawyer or law firm publisher for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this blog site you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and the Blog/Website publisher. The Blog/Website should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.

The content of this website contains general information and may not reflect current legal developments, verdicts or settlements. The contents of this website may be considered advertising in some jurisdictions under applicable law and ethics rules. Please remember that prior results cannot and do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter, including yours, in which a lawyer or law firm may be retained.

Any information sent to the Law Offices of Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP by Internet e-mail or through the website is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis. Transmission of information from this website does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and the Law Offices of Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP, nor is it intended to do so.

Some links within the website may lead to other websites, including those operated and maintained by third parties. We include these links solely as a convenience to you, and the presence of such a link does not imply a responsibility for the linked site or an endorsement of the linked site, its operator or contents.

If you have any questions, please contact the Law Offices of Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP. Every discussion is confidential and we serve the entire New York City and Long Island region.